Recent Stories

From One Product to Thousands
3M had its beginnings in 1902 at one small location in northern Minnesota. 3M's Saint Paul headquarters grew to become the heart of a major corporation between 1910 and 1962.
Founded in 1902, Minnesota Mining and…

1910-19623M was located on Saint Paul’s East Side for almost 100 years and the company was headquartered here until 1962. Visit the site of 3M’s historic campus at 900 Bush Avenue and you will encounter a series of illustrated panels that recall the…

Setting the Cornerstone, Building 21
President William L. McKnight, accompanied by chief engineer E. M. Johnson, supervised the installation of the cornerstone in October 1939.
The mason worked for the William Murphy and Son Construction Company. The…

Working for Job Betterment
The majority of employees in the Saint Paul Plant worked in the factories and received hourly pay. The company sought to offer competitive wages and working conditions comparable to other companies and factories in the…

“I Want to Work at 3M”
Many early 3M employees, including William L. McKnight and Archibald G. Bush, had “business” training or high school training in “mechanic arts.”
When William Viervering was hired in 1916 to help insure quality control, he had…

Women at Work
Women have worked at 3M since its early years and have played ever more varied and diversified roles.
In 1916, the year the company made its first profits and began to pay dividends on its stock, there were only a handful of female…

Saint Paul Historical

A project by Historic Saint Paul

Saint Paul Historical is a free mobile app that puts Saint Paul's history at your fingertips. Explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city's history. Click on any point on the interactive map to read historical narratives and to view images. Take curated historical tours of Saint Paul and share our stories and your experience using social media. This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. This site is powered by Omeka + Curatescape, a humanities-centered web and mobile framework available for both Android and iOS devices. Read more About Us